Page 43 of Taken By the Highland Villain
“It isnae as if it matters to ye one way or another. Why complain about my acknowledging I’ll leave, when ye have nay intention of making me stay?” Valerie retorted. She tried to pull free, but he held her close. “Let go of me.”
“Mayhap I will, when ye make up yer mind.” The low growl sent a tingling heat through her. “One minute ye say ye’ll leave as soon as ye’re done, the next ye’re tellin’ folk that we’re betrothed. Which is it, lass?”
“Well, ye ken well enough we’re nae betrothed,” Valerie snipped.
Jude’s expression darkened further, but there was a heat of something other than anger in his eyes. “Fine. Which is it yewantit to be? Betrothed, or returning home?”
“What does it matter to ye? I kenyedinnae want any sort of attachment.” She tried to sound confident, but she couldn’t help the way her heart fluttered as he held her close.
“Ye’re the one who made the statement, so tell me which it is yereallywant. Did ye want me to claim ye or set ye free?” Jude’s voice dropped to a lower register, and the heated, throaty growl sank into her bones and made her belly quiver with desire despite herself.
She knew what her honest answer would be under different circumstances. But she also knew what Jude had said before—he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, marry.
She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
Jude blinked and drew back a fraction. “What for?”
“For claimin’ ye were my betrothed, especially without consultin’ ye first. I didnae intend to, but he was there, demanding I go back with him, and I kenned that if I did, I would have to marry him and permit him to touch me, and I couldnae?—”
Jude’s low growl cut her off, and a moment later, he claimed her lips in a searing kiss that stole every thought in her head.
He tasted of fresh bread and whiskey. His masculine scent—leather, metal, sweat, and something subtle that she could not place—wrapped around her, and the combination, along with his firm, slightly rough lips and the masterful way his tongue swept across the crease of her mouth and claimed access, left her breathless and weak in the knees.
Without any conscious decision, she found her hands clinging to his shirt, her body pressed against his, so close that she could feel his growing arousal against her belly.
Despite her intentions, a soft whimper left her lips. “Jude…”
“Ye wanted to claim me, lass? I think it is fair ye be claimed in turn… and I will show ye exactly what I think of yer audacity.”
CHAPTER 19
One kiss leftValerie trembling in his arms, and for a brief moment, Jude considered leaving it at that. But his body burned and ached for more, and the sound of his name on her silky soft lips sent desire surging through him like a tempest.
He was being swept away—a flood would have been easier to resist.
Even so…
“Tell me what ye want, lass.”
If she pushed him away, he would let her go, no matter how much his body ached for her. If she felt no true desire for him… If he was just a convenient excuse in truth…
Valerie clutched him tighter, then leaned closer and stretched upward to breathe a single, short answer into his ear. “I want ye. Please…”
The last of his restraint evaporated like water in a forge.
Jude scooped her up into his arms and lifted her onto the sturdy table so he could step between her parted knees and slide his hands up her arms, before using one to undo the laces of her bodice.
He dipped his head to claim her lips in another kiss, tasting every inch of her mouth and leaving her breathless before he shifted to press a second kiss to the line of her jaw. He lingered, feeling her pulse quicken under his ministrations, before he shifted and lightly nipped her earlobe.
Valerie gasped at the scrape of his teeth, shivering as he returned to her neck to kiss, bite and suck on her skin, leaving a mark.
Another mark on her collarbone, then he dragged her bodice down to her waist, baring her perfect breasts. Her nipples were already stiffening in the air, and Jude bent his head to take the right one in his mouth.
Valerie shivered, her breath coming in gasps that sent sparks of excitement through his blood. Jude suckled, then scraped his teeth lightly across the sensitive nub, before laving it with his tongue, until she was squirming and panting in his arms. Then, he switched his attention to her left breast, supporting her with one arm while he teased her nipple until she was moaning.
Jude eased her back until she was lying on the table, her bosom bare, her face flushed, her body laid out under his appreciative gaze. He slid his hand slowly down her belly, feeling thequivering muscles and the way she shifted restlessly under his touch. His thumb traced little circles around her navel, and she squirmed on the table, her knees spreading wider.
“Jude…”